Electronic components, including integrated circuits, may be assembled into component packages by physically and electrically coupling them to a substrate. During operation, the package may generate heat that can be dissipated to help maintain the circuitry at a desired temperature. Heat sinks, heat spreaders, and other heat dissipating elements may be attached to the package using a suitable thermal interface material.
The interface material, which may take the form of Indium-based solder paste, can be used to attach a copper heat spreader to a die, for example. However, the paste typically includes solder particles of widely variable size, resulting in non-uniform distribution of particles across the die, high thermal resistance, and mechanical stress. Different interface materials, or arrangements of such materials, may operate to improve heat transfer from sources, such as dice, to sinks, such as heat spreaders.